Small "silent" generator.

[Captain Yoghurtpot]

Possibly looking to purchase one of these things but know nothing about them or their ability to produce power.
Any advice please.
Thinking along the lines of the Honda suitcase type?
Thanks.

 

[Spriddler]

I was impressed with one that looked like this that a pal had at a recent motorbike rally mainly for an hour or perhaps two at teatime for charging the battery in his PVC with a compressor fridge.. It wasn't at all obtrusive - just purred, 20 feet away at the hedgerow. He was already carrying spare petrol for his motorbike so fuel no problem.

 

[steve69]

I was impressed with one that looked like this that a pal had at a recent motorbike rally. It wasn't at all obtrusive - just purred, 20 feet away at the hedgerow.

View attachment 967328

Power output?
Just looked on ebay and the 22 part of the name refers to 2.2kw
That seems very cheap for this model.
The Eu10i is a 1kw and retails around this price.

 

[Lenny HB]

Honda are quitest but will still annoy the neighbours.

 

[Spriddler]

Power output?
I'm guessing about 1Kw.

Honda EU22i - Medinas Shopping

Generator Output technology Inverter Type Single phase Maximum output (W) 2200 Rated output (W) 1800 Rated voltage (V) 230 Rated frequency (Hz) 50 Rated current (A) 7.8 DC rated output 12V / 8A Engine Engine model GXR120 Engine type 4-stroke, OHV, 1 cylinder Displacement (cm³) 98.5 Bore × stroke...

medinashopping.com

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[jumar]

I'm aware that gennies are regarded as anti-social...but they are not....it's the owners that are anti-social.... we've had one since 1996...a Honda 2T...it purs away and I've been know to check up to see if it's still running...even as it's 2T...a full 25 metre away ..silent...
Actually we don't use it anymore....what with solar and Lithium it's resting quietly

 

[Steve and Denise]

Honda are quitest but will still annoy the neighbours.

A lot quieter that the ones fitted in those American RVs
We parked up with the RV club once it was like being at the fairground

 

[Nigel Crompton]

We've a semi-retired Eu10i converted to lpg*. It's worth it if you go places that are remote and in winter. As we did, but times have moved on. We have used it around others, without complaint - a folding table on it's side is a surprisingly effective sound baffle/reflector.
For me, it had to be a Honda.
Subjectively it runs quieter than on petrol.

 

[Flairy]

Having sold them for many years and run on gas they’re still an irritant to other people no matter what I even tried on boarded Telaco equally irritating so unless your on your own it’s best not to run one.

 

[Jake Royd]

When checking on noise bear in mind that when ticking over they can be very quiet.
The maximum noise is when they are under full load.
A 1kw Honda , although one of the quietest around may be quite noisy for quite long periods if being used close to maximum out put.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[fishplug]

I have one.

Silent they are not.

Reasonably quiet (once warmed up) is more like it, but they can and will get on people's nerves if you're close to them and are running them for prolonged periods. You can mitigate this by building boxes for them to sit in, but the exhaust ultimately needs to point out somewhere and that's the bit that you can't do much to silence.

All depends on your needs and your use case, but these days I'd probably be looking at a 'power station' (bluetti, ecoflow, etc) if I needed some 240v power while stuck in a field for a bit. Now they really are silent!

I used to use mine to power a fridge for outdoor catering and it would happily tick over for about 6h on one tank full of petrol and was only noisy for the first 20 mins or so. After that it still made a noise buy you could be stood right next to it and have a conversation at normal volume without any issue. It's just one of those constant drone noises that can be annoying after a while and that would probably be disturbing if you were trying to sleep.

As for putting out power, well, they do that pretty well. Just pick one that puts out the power that you need and if you're running something like a fridge that will have a surge of power on startup then check that it has surge capacity (or is rated higher than your max surge)

 

[JJ]

Honda are quitest but will still annoy the neighbours.

Not if I was your neighbour...

A purring Honda is fine by me.

Country and Western music or a Ukulele Band... now that would annoy me.


JJ

 

[RandallC]

Possibly looking to purchase one of these things but know nothing about them or their ability to produce power.
Any advice please.
Thinking along the lines of the Honda suitcase type?
Thanks.

A silent generator is an oxymoron

 

[Captain Yoghurtpot]

A silent generator is an oxymoron

Is that a brand or expletive?

 

[Captain Yoghurtpot]

Honda are quitest but will still annoy the neighbours.

But I am looking at using this at an event next year where almost all folks attending will be using some form of generator, so annoyance levels are likely to be accepted.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[RandallC]

Is that a brand or expletive?

Surprised you need to ask!

Having been on a site where a generator was "purring" away some 70 yards away thankfully was shut off before sleep time.

 

[Captain Yoghurtpot]

I was impressed with one that looked like this that a pal had at a recent motorbike rally mainly for an hour or perhaps two at teatime for charging the battery in his PVC with a compressor fridge.. It wasn't at all obtrusive - just purred, 20 feet away at the hedgerow. He was already carrying spare petrol for his motorbike so fuel no problem.

View attachment 967328

Have seen this model and been impressed by it's ability.
And could be useful at home IF we may get power cuts.

 

[Captain Yoghurtpot]

I'm aware that gennies are regarded as anti-social...but they are not....it's the owners that are anti-social.... we've had one since 1996...a Honda 2T...it purs away and I've been know to check up to see if it's still running...even as it's 2T...a full 25 metre away ..silent...
Actually we don't use it anymore....what with solar and Lithium it's resting quietly

Don't have Solar or Lithium so this is why I posted the question.
Thanks for the input.

 

[Captain Yoghurtpot]

We've a semi-retired Eu10i converted to lpg*. It's worth it if you go places that are remote and in winter. As we did, but times have moved on. We have used it around others, without complaint - a folding table on it's side is a surprisingly effective sound baffle/reflector.
For me, it had to be a Honda.
Subjectively it runs quieter than on petrol.

So runs quieter on LPG?
Interesting.

 

[jumar]

Don't have Solar or Lithium so this is why I posted the question.
Thanks for the input.

You are welcome....I still have my gennie...it's been a gem at times..

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Winger]

Whatever happened to Efoy for charging batteries. Totally silent and can be bought at the right money 2nd hand?

 

[Captain Yoghurtpot]

Whatever happened to Efoy for charging batteries. Totally silent and can be bought at the right money 2nd hand?

I was looking more for a generator to produce 240v directly rather than one to charge just the 12v batteries.
If I can get 240v in then the on board charger can charge the 12v. Or if its summer, a portable solar panel could do the 12v side of things.
I am trying to get 240v for 240v stuff without using an inverter from a 12v supply.
Maybe I have got things wrong though.

 

[fishplug]

Maybe I have got things wrong though.

Not at all IMO.

I’ve also gone 12v only in the van. I no longer have use for 240, but have kept the generator because I already had it and it’s a good backup for the chest freezer if the power goes.

If others are using generators at the event then I don’t see it being an issue.

I built a crude ply box that I put around mine as there were small children and dogs where I used it and it was a good way of keeping them away from a hot exhaust.

I looked into the gas conversion as it was cheaper to run at the time but I’m not sure that’s true anymore, unless you have a refillable gas bottle.

In the end I didn’t do it because I was only using it for one or two events per year and the cost of the conversion would have taken too long to get any ROI on.

Lots of good YouTube videos on the conversions though.

It seems that the price of these has come down though. I’m guessing that’s to fight off the rise in popularity of power banks.

I got a Champion which were rated highly back in the day, with Honda being the undisputed leaders.

I just saw Champion now do a 2.2KW suitcase style one for £350. Mine is 2KW and is probably double the size and cost more than that 15 years ago!

I don’t know if the build quality is still what it was so do your own research as mine is out of date know.

A ‘non brand’ power bank with that sort of capacity seems to be £8-900 but you also have to calculate the draw v time as it’s harder to fill a Jerry can with electrons….

 

[andyelbac]

I know nothing about generators but if it's a Honda I doubt you will get better. They don't say 'Legendary Honda Reliability' for nothing. My 15 year old Accord (petrol) has just ticked over at 212,000 miles and passed its last mot with an advisory on a fogged headlamp! If they made motorhomes I would swap my right nut for one!

 

[fishplug]

I have to say that if I was going to use it every week then I wouldn't have blinked at the price of the Honda back then.

However when you're only using it a handful of times a year then £400 on a Champion v £1100 on a Honda (which were the prices back then) made sense.

I'm confident that if I put some fuel in the Champion right now it wouldn't take more than three pulls of the cord to get it running. I also know that if it was a Honda it would start on the first pull

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[VXman]

But I am looking at using this at an event next year where almost all folks attending will be using some form of generator, so annoyance levels are likely to be accepted.

It's not Le Mans 24 hr race is it? I was surrounded by gennies there last year. Don't understand why - my £700 solar system lasted me for 10 days.

Don't have Solar or Lithium so this is why I posted the question.
Thanks for the input.

For the £650 of the 'silent generator' you wouldn't be far off a decent Solar system.

 

[Steve and Denise]

Not at all IMO.

I’ve also gone 12v only in the van. I no longer have use for 240, but have kept the generator because I already had it and it’s a good backup for the chest freezer if the power goes.

If others are using generators at the event then I don’t see it being an issue.

I built a crude ply box that I put around mine as there were small children and dogs where I used it and it was a good way of keeping them away from a hot exhaust.

I looked into the gas conversion as it was cheaper to run at the time but I’m not sure that’s true anymore, unless you have a refillable gas bottle.

In the end I didn’t do it because I was only using it for one or two events per year and the cost of the conversion would have taken too long to get any ROI on.

Lots of good YouTube videos on the conversions though.

It seems that the price of these has come down though. I’m guessing that’s to fight off the rise in popularity of power banks.

I got a Champion which were rated highly back in the day, with Honda being the undisputed leaders.

I just saw Champion now do a 2.2KW suitcase style one for £350. Mine is 2KW and is probably double the size and cost more than that 15 years ago!

I don’t know if the build quality is still what it was so do your own research as mine is out of date know.

A ‘non brand’ power bank with that sort of capacity seems to be £8-900 but you also have to calculate the draw v time as it’s harder to fill a Jerry can with electrons….

We are similar everything is 12volt apart from the kettle toaster air fryer microwave and hairdryer and they run off our inverter and battery

 

[Captain Yoghurtpot]

It's not Le Mans 24 hr race is it? I was surrounded by gennies there last year. Don't understand why - my £700 solar system lasted me for 10 days.


For the £650 of the 'silent generator' you wouldn't be far off a decent Solar system.

I don't want to fit a permanent solar array on the pop-top roof of our VW campervan, but agreed, a portable solar panel would also be a useful addition to keep stuff ' topped up'.
The gennie idea is to be used not just for the campervan, but for other temporary stuff at home , if and when, conditions determine.
Thinking out loud of using van in winter and early spring in the UK though, and there 'aint a lot of solar around then.
Horses for courses, and no I am not going to Le Man's but more some music type and special event stuff like cars and scooters etc and general gatherings of a few like-minded souls.
Thanks for your reply.

 

[Captain Yoghurtpot]

We are similar everything is 12volt apart from the kettle toaster air fryer microwave and hairdryer and they run off our inverter and battery

Our 240v usage would be for virtually the same appliances, but also to input to the on board charger to replenish the 12v battery.
We don't have an inverter or a massive amperage leisure battery, and it's a Lead Acid type.
Trying to keep things simple so I can understand them.
Lithium leaves me in a cold sweat!

 

[Steve and Denise]

Our 240v usage would be for virtually the same appliances, but also to input to the on board charger to replenish the 12v battery.
We don't have an inverter or a massive amperage leisure battery, and it's a Lead Acid type.
Trying to keep things simple so I can understand them.
Lithium leaves me in a cold sweat!

We also have a Honda 2kw lpg or petrol that has not been used for the last 4 years